9661 Qualification System for Bridge and Riverbed Inspections

IÉ invites applications to participate in the pre-qualification process to appoint suitably qualified companies to a qualification system for Bridge and Riverbed Inspection Services that may arise on an ad-hoc basis. Those companies successfully appointed to the Qualification System will receive all future tender enquiries. Iarnród Éireann has over 450 bridges (structures greater than 2m) over water. All these bridges and riverbeds require periodic inspections. Some inspections are carried out yearly, other are every 3 years and more are on a 6 yearly cycle. Iarnród Éireann is looking to appoint specialist expertise to undertake inspection of railway bridges that traverse water courses as well as carry out bridge and river surveys. The applicants are to provide expertise in the following areas: • Provide Health and Safety and Risk Assessment plans for the specific work • Provide qualified divers/surveyors for a bridge and riverbed inspections/surveys • Record the topography using surveying techniques • Using the previous base line surveys (supplied by IÉ) identify changes in the structure and/or the river channel. • Provide factual report on findings. • Provide for Engineers review (review undertaken by a Chartered Civil Engineer) of the factual report before the reports are issued to Irish Rail. The Qualification System is also to include for inspection of any structure following a major flood event. In the period after a flood event, structures throughout the IÉ network may need to be inspected to determine the extent, if any, of damage caused by the event.